Brickmaking



saires stares sararrr GEORGE A. WARNER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

IBRICKMAKING.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Julie 27, 1922.

Application sied December as, 192i'. serial No. 525,591. 1

for manufacturing the bricks or similar.

articles.

Bricks are now ordinarily molded in a brick machine. This brick machine "is simply a machine provided with a suitable feed for the wet clay and a powerful ram` for compressing the clay and a die at the bottom of the ram through which the wet clay is forced into a mold on the table of the machine. This mold is simply a wooden box with a plurality of compartments to form the bricks. `After the ram has descended and started on its up stroke the machine ejects the mold boxand another one is placed therein. In ejecting the mold box at the front of the machine the bottom of the die passes o-ver the mold box to scrape olf the top surfaces of the preliminary formed bricks to make a clean upper surface.

However, in actual practice it is found that after the plastic material has stood but a short time the level of each preliminary formed brick alters and the same begins to swell at the top and center. This is due to the fact that the clay is moist and is forced into the compartments of the mold box under tremendous pressure. As soon as the pressure is released the material starts to Vswell out, hence it is usually required to level off these mold boxes again before the material is dumped out onto the pallet.

It is the object of the present invention f to neutralize this swelling action by cutting the bottom ofthe machine, and the mold box on the table. Fig. 2 is a perspective of the die.

F ig. 3 is a perspective of the mold box. a designates the outside shell of the machine; b the ram, and. c the die at the bottom of the compression chamber. This is provided with a plurality of clay cutting bars or guides c which have theirv edge portions directedv upwardly 'and divide the .mass of clayas it is forced down by the ram and so that a pluralityof separate streams ,of clay under pressure flow into the mold compartments. edges of this die are straight, as is also the case with the mold box designated f. 'ihese edges of the die become Scrapers to clean of the top of the mold box when .this is ejected from the front of the machine onto the table.

In lace of makin this surface 'straight I make the surface of the die both at the front andthe' rear with corrugatifons g.' In short, the entire under surfac'eof the dieis iuted, the corrugations being adjacent the cutting bars and the convexities opposite the openings between the cutting bars. Conversely on the upper edges' of the mold box Now ordinarily the front lower the fluting is such that the corrugations are opposite the openings in the mold box and the convexities are opposite the partitions, as will clearly appear from Fig. 3. Hence when the mold box is ejected from the die a slight shallow groove is made in the upper surface of the preliminarily formed brick. This compensates for the succeeding swelling of the brick and is nicely calculated to effect a substantially accurate compensation for the swelling. I find that with an crdinary 2 x l x 8 brick that a corrugation having a maximum depth of about g of an inch is about right to accomplish the purpose.

Of course, no exact dimensions can be main- A tained because the amount of grooving of the top of the brick will have to depend largely upon the amount of pressure used and also upon the character of the material that goes to form the brick.

The top of the brick in the mold becomes the bottom of the brick on the pallet. y

Therefore, if it is so desired, the groove in the plastic brick may be made deeper and greater than is necessary to compensate for the swelling. This will give a certain hollow in the brick when laid on the pallet which will give a space for the material to spread to the insidewhen the pressure of the soft plastic material causes it to spread slightly7 at the bottom, .as is now the. case with ordinarily formed bricks.

What I claim is:

l. In a molding apparatus for forming bricks yor similar: articles7 the `combination of a mold box provided with a plurality of compartments and having,` side walls that are corrugated oi iuted, and a member having matching` corrugations or tlutings that` can be passed over the moldA box to corrugate the plastic bricks,- for thepurpose specified.

2. In a molding` apparatus for'orming bricks or-siinilar articles, the combination of a mold box provided with a plurality of partitions forming` compartments and sidel walls provided with Iluting's iii-'which the concavities are'r adjacent the compartments and they convexitiesr adjacent the partitions, and a member Yfor passing over the mold box and having matching iluting'on the side walls.

3. In a molding;` apparatusffor forming bricks or similar articles, a vmold box provided with a compartment ytomold a brick, the side of the inold box being` providedwith a shallow corrugatioinand a member pro- 1 vided with a matching convcxitythat can be passed over the'mold box asa scraper tol provide 'a shallow vcorrugation inthe top-of the plastic brick.`

bricks or similar articles, the combination of a die provided with a plurality of side bars having liuting on their llower sides and cuttingY bars connecting" the' side bars, the

concavities of the iiutingbeingopposite thel cutting' bars and the convex'ities4 opposite the openings between theA cutting bars, and a mold box provided with la plurality of partitions connectingjtwo sidebars, each of which side bars has itsflower edge fluted` with the concavities opposite the compartments and the convexities opposite the :parrtitions, said flutings of the die and the inold box matching whereby when the moldfbox is ejected sidewise from the die shallow corrugations are'cut in the tops of the plastic bricks.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

GEORGE A. WARNER.' 

